TAFE NSW is supporting residents in rehabilitation at Adele House in Moonee by building their skills for a brighter future.

The Adele House residential alcohol and drug rehabilitation program aims to support the community in lowering homelessness and addiction. Residents are being equipped with theoretical and practical skills by studying with TAFE NSW in order to promote successful rehabilitation.

The residents work towards basic qualifications which will equip them with foundational skills in first aid, basic food handling and agriculture that they need for successful employment outcomes. A number of participants, who have completed the program, have followed a pathway to further education and are now studying courses in community services and mental health.

The North Coast has a population of just over 500,000 people. According to research released in 2018, 7.3 per cent of respondents identified alcohol or drug use as a health challenge they personally face.i

Trent Riley is one of that 7.3 per cent, Mr Riley undertook the TAFE NSW basic training during his time at Adele House and has gone on to study a Certificate II Pathways to Further Education. While he says he is taking things one day at a time, since he left Adele House, he does hope to continue his studies with a course in community services with a view to assisting others who are dealing with the cycle of homelessness.

“I hope that my experience can be put to practical use and help other people in similar situations.

“I’ve ended up in gaol and last time I was in there my mother passed away. Gaol was the last place I wanted to be when something like that happened and I felt so ashamed that I couldn’t be with my family. I had a choice to either get clean or keep heading down the path I was on.

“I rehabilitated at Adele House and I re-learnt basic life skills like how to live responsibly and they introduced me to TAFE NSW. I really enjoy being able to learn new things.

“I’ve got an interest in homelessness because I went through that cycle so I would like to work in helping people dealing with homelessness or people in recovery,” Mr Riley said.

Manager of Adele House, Jackson Walsh, said that education is a key part of anyone’s personal growth and even more so in the sense of rehabilitation.

“It’s clear that attitudes start to change over a period of time. It takes patience and some good influence from others who have been residents for some time to change their behaviour and open up to a new skill.

“Education is a means of rehabilitating and redirecting someone’s life. If a resident is released with the same skills with which they came in with, they are the only skills they know how to use.”

Mr Walsh said it’s not just the education that TAFE NSW is providing, learning new skills instils confidence and a new sense of identity for the residents.

TAFE Enterprise offers customised and flexible training courses, across all industries. For more information visit https://www.tafensw.edu.au/enterprise or phone 1300 045 737.

Media contact: Sarah Lievore, TAFE NSW Media Officer, sarah.lievore1@tafensw.edu.au